Hi! My name is Ron Gesme. I have taught at the Decorah, Iowa Middle
School for twenty-four and one-half years. I teach eighth grade
language arts. Some of the thematic units I teach are the Holocaust,
Heroes in America, Careers, Mystery and Suspense, Tall Tales and
Legends, and Debates. My students also are taught the basics of
writing skills such as punctuation, capitalization, usage, spelling,
and writing revision. My students are consistently in the top three
percentile as a class for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills Language
area. I stress the basic skills of writing a lot. I also use an
individualized reading program called the SRA. Some of you might
remember that from your school days. Yes, it is old, but, so what. It
works! Most of my students increase their reading comprehension by
two years or more according to the ITBS; some as many as five years.
I am very proud of my students because the great majority of them
work hard to improve their language arts skills. They also seem to
have fun in the class by doing skits on the stage in my room, having
lively discussions, and doing interesting projects of their choice.
That is my philosophy of education: To learn a lot and have fun at
the same time.
Educational Background:
I am a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. I have a K-8
teaching certificate. I have taken graduate courses (too numerous to
count) at such places as the University of Northern Iowa, Winona
State University, the University of Southern Maine, the University of
Minnesota, the University of Hawaii, and Arizona State West. I
decided to become a teacher because I always enjoyed learning and
being around people. I also really enjoyed acting in high school, and
that is what a teacher has to be, an actor. After all these years of
teaching, I still think it is "Showtime" when the bell begins a new
period. Teaching; what a noble profession!